Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a form of dementia causing cognitive impairment and progressive neurologic decline. Over five million Americans have AD currently. Patients who develop this disease have changes in their brain that tissue impact memory and higher cognitive functions, namely plaques and tangles of neurons developing in areas of the brain controllling memory (hippocampus) and decision making (cerebral cortex). Grossly, the entire brain begins to shrink, which can be seen in the picture from the case as brain tissue is lost. Though there is a genetic form of the disease that has an earlier onset in the 50s and 60s, most patients affected by AD are elderly and develop it sporadically.

Typically, patients develop memory loss over the course of several years. Later on in the disease course, patients have trouble completing complicated tasks, such as paying bills and cooking, and lose the ability to care for themselves. Our patient’s husband was presumably taking care of the household duties, and when he passed away, her symptoms became more evident. As AD progresses, patients lose their ability to speak, recognize family, and control their bladder and bowels.

There is no treatment for AD, though there are a few medications that may slow the progress of the disease. It is incredibly difficult to watch a family member suffering from this illness, and hopefully medical science will be able to find a meaningful treatment soon. I hope you enjoyed my last Medical Mystery Monday. It has been a pleasure educating my readers about all the different fascinating things that can go wrong with the human body!